The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards says talk around Manchester United will be on whether new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking for a “excuse” to sack manager Erik ten Hag.
United’s unbeaten run in 2024 came to shock end when the Reds lost 2-1 to Fulham on Saturday. As a result, sixth-placed United are eight points behind Aston Villa in fourth spot.
Prior to Saturday, Fulham had registered just two league victories at Old Trafford in their club’s entire history, and with the second worst away record in the top flight.
“We know this has been Manchester United under Ten Hag,” Edwards told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast.
“You think they’re going to get some positive momentum, that they’ve turned a corner but it turns out they’re just going around in a circle.
“I think the big problem for Ten Hag is Sir Jim Ratcliffe has come in and made no secret of his ambitions, he’s spoken about how they need to get into the Champions League for profit and sustainability rules.
“It’s a really bad result for him after you’d just begun to feel like he’d got that little bit of positivity around the place – they’d been grinding our results, they were getting on a little winning streak.
“Then that happened, no disrespect to Fulham but it’s a home game that if you want to get into the Champions league you have to win.
“The problem you’ve got now for Ten Hag, and I think he deserves far more time than that, but anytime he gets a negative result now that conversation will be had.
“Fans will be talking about it, the next few days will be dominated by ‘does Sir Jim Ratcliffe really want Ten Hag?’
“He wasn’t his appointment as manager, he’s now got control of the football side of the business. The worry will be that he’s looking for that excuse to bring in the manager he wants.”
Ratcliffe wasn’t present for the Fulham game but the TV director’s decision to repeatedly cut between images of a Ten Hag to Sir Dave Brailsford illustrated how scrutiny from the hierarchy within the club hasn’t been greater in some time.
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